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Anadama Bread

By Michele Miller
Anadama bread—we live by it! Eat it fresh out of the oven with slabs of butter or fried in olive oil for cinnamon toast. I always make more than one loaf at a time so there is always some in the freezer. Make garlic croutons for Caesar salad, sandwiches of melted Gruyère, or bacon, lettuce, and tomato. Or mix it into a crumb topping with capers, garlic, and olive oil for salmon.
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Course Side Dish
Servings 2 large or 3 medium loaves

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 10 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1¼ cup cornmeal (use fine or coarse ground, fresh milled if possible)
  • ¼ cup flaxseed meal (optional)
  • 2 rounded tablespoons granulated yeast
  • 8 cups Bob’s Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot, bring milk nearly to a boil over medium heat, then whisk in butter, brown sugar, blackstrap molasses, salt, cornmeal, and flaxseed if you are using it.
  • Pour into a large ceramic bowl and let sit until cooled to the touch. Stir yeast into 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water. When it is bubbly, mix it gently into the bowl.
  • Add flour by the cup until it is too thick to stir.
  • Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until flour is fully integrated. Place dough back in the bowl and cover the surface with flour and a towel.
  • In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450° and prepare bread pans with olive oil or baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • When the dough has doubled (approximately 1 to 2 hours), punch it down and cut into 2 or 3 pieces, depending on how big you want your loaves to be.
  • Form into loaves by pulling the dough from the outside edges into the middle to create tension on the outside of the loaf. Pinch the middle together and turn over.
  • If you are using a loaf pan, roll your hand back and forth over the dough to lengthen it to fit the pan. For a round loaf, place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal.
  • Let rise until soft to the touch, approximately an hour. Slash with a serrated knife and place in the oven.
  • Turn the heat down to 350° and bake until browned and hollow sounding, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool on rack before slicing.

Notes

Photograph by Mark Loader
Keyword baked goods, bread